'sA-dE . com

Odds and ends

I filed my taxes last Thursday. This year, I finally get some money back. A whole $150.00. It is going straight into the "Fun Fund", also known as the "Climbing one of the 7 summits with the World's Best Boyfriend" fund, or the "What will Saedigh look like after she hasn't showered for 7 days?" fund. This year, I used netfile and did it all by myself with QuickTax web-based software. It was awesome! And so much cheaper than those green guys who consistently come out with the wrong amount for my return (or, more accurately, my balance owing). It was $21.95 for the first return, and would've been only $5.00 for each other return I filed, had there been any other returns to file, which there weren't, but maybe someday there will be, so it's a good thing to keep in the back of my mind. Or something...

Today I have a job interview. It's within the same directorate where I work now, but in a different team. I have another one on Tuesday. My biggest problem in an interview is that I'm not cocky enough. Self-deprecation gets laughs in the lunchroom, but not a lot of respect in the boardroom. My second-biggest problem is that I don't state the obvious. I am a big-picture kind of girl, so I tend to leave out what I think are trivial details. But it's the trivial details, it turns out, that score you the points. And in a government board-style interview, it's all about scoring those points. It's doubley hard considering that all of the people on the board know me and have worked with me for 4 years. See, they are only allowed to go on what I tell them in the interview. They can't rely on any other information. So I need to make sure I hit certain talking points...

My mom and dad are bringing Diva up for Easter this weekend. I am looking forward to taking her to the park. She is the most well-behaved dog in Canada, but not out of obedience. She is pretty much driven by snobbery, hence her name. See, she doesn't really interact with or show interest in many other dogs, mostly because she feels above them. But strangers don't know that, they just see 100+ lbs of well-trained German Shepherd and are astonished that she comes when I call, while their dogs fall all over themselves to distract one another...

Yesterday I was feeling pretty miserable, achey, and exhausted, so I watched a movie instead of going to the gym to train. I have "video on demand", so I don't have to go to the video store. It's the height of consumerism, but sometimes indulgence is alright. Like when you're miserable, achey, and exhausted and don't want to go to the gym to train. I ordered Ray, and I have to say, I was really quite blown away. And I did not intend for that to rhyme. Seriously, Jamie Foxx was most excellent. An understatement, but still true...

Tomorrow I am volunteering for the Junior Achievement Economics of Staying in School program. I get to hang out with a bunch of 8th graders and play games in an effort to convince them of the correlation between education (formal or not) and success...